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Jonathan Cook’s World Game Wrap-Up

Posted on | Posted by Jonathan Cook

Three reds hand United initiative

Three Fulham red cards in under a minute gave Manchester United a free pass to rescue their FA Cup clash at Old Trafford.

The visitors had gone in front through Aleksandar Mitrovic but things turned sour as the spotlight fell on referee Chris Kavanagh.

Once he was asked by the Video Assistant Referee to have a closer look at a handball incident it seemed inevitable that Willian, who had blocked Jadon Sancho’s goal-bound shot, would be sent off.

But before Kavanagh could even complete his review he handed a red to manager Marco Silva, who was incensed that the referee hadn’t looked at earlier Fulham shouts for a penalty.

Mitrovic was next to go, the Serbian confronting the referee as he was heading over to send off Willian.

After the storm, Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot to level the tie. Marcel Sabitzer put United in front soon after and Fernandes scored a sealer in stoppage time.

Hero Doyle to miss semi-final

Tommy Doyle scored a thrilling winner to put Sheffield United into an FA Cup semi-final that he won’t be allowed to play in.

Doyle’s stoppage-time screamer, which secured a 3-2, come-from-behind victory over Blackburn Rovers, has put the Blades on course for a Wembley Stadium showdown against Manchester City.

Unfortunately for the 21-year-old, he is on loan at Sheffield United from Manchester City and is ineligible to play against his parent club. The Blades’ James McAtee is in the same situation.

Brighton will take on Manchester United in the other semi-final after ending League Two Grimsby Town’s fairy tale run with a 5-0 thrashing.

Palace routed by ruthless Gunners

Arsenal made the most of Crystal Palace’s managerial disruption with a minimum of fuss at the Emirates Stadium.

Palace sacked manager Patrick Vieira during the week and might have been hoping for a response from the players.

Instead, Palace were taught a lesson by rampaging Arsenal who cruised to a 4-1 win. Bukayo Saka scored twice and Gabriel Martinelli and Granit Xhaka were also on target, while Jeffrey Schlupp scored Palace’s consolation.

Premier League leaders Arsenal are eight points clear of Manchester City, who have a game in hand.

Conte challenges selfish Spurs

How long would you stay in your job if you challenged the boss to sack you?

Antonio Conte is about to find out after a bizarre rant following Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-3 draw with Southampton.

Spurs had been leading struggling Saints 3-1 before conceding twice in the last 16 minutes.

But rather than consider the possibility that he may have got something wrong tactically, Conte turned on the club.

He described the players as selfish and even appeared to point the finger at the club’s owners by questioning why Spurs had been trophyless for so long.

Spurs stayed fourth on the table, but fifth-placed Newcastle have two games in hand.

Kompany crushed on City return

For all the respect Manchester City fans have for their former player Vincent Kompany, the current crop of players were ruthless on his return to the Etihad Stadium.

Kompany, who is manager of Burnley, has taken the club to the top of the English Championship and within reach of a return to the Premier League.

Unfortunately for the Belgian, he found out just how tough it will be next season during an FA Cup match on Saturday that offered a trial run.

After accepting a hero’s welcome from fans, Kompany witnessed a 6-0 crushing as City advanced to the semi-finals.

Is Haaland real?

With each passing game, Erling Haaland seems more like a comic book hero than a real footballer.

In his last two matches, he has scored eight times – five in the UEFA Champions League against RB Leipzig and a hat-trick in an FA Cup humbling of Burnley.

The Manchester City striker is now on 42 goals for the season, including 28 in the Premier League, and likely to create more history in the coming weeks.

Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored 44 in an English season, a Premier League-era record Haaland is likely to pass in no time at all.

Alan Shearer and Andy Cole hold the record for the number of Premier League goals in a season with 34.

Jonny sickened after stunner

Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Jonny rode the highs and lows of football in a single match as Leeds United earned a vital 4-2 win at Molineux Stadium.

After trailing 3-0, Jonny scored with a 35m volley to make it 3-1 as Wolves began a fightback that was given momentum by a second goal from Matheus Cunha.

But with Leeds wobbling, the visitors were given breathing space when Jonny, who mistimed a tackle on Luke Ayling, was sent off after a Video Assistant Review.

Rodrigo scored a controversial fourth goal for Leeds in stoppage time after Wolves’ Adama Traore appeared to have been fouled in the lead up.

Glory still scrapping for finals place

Eventually, for all their huffing and puffing, Perth Glory will be able to claim a finals place or concede that the chase is up – but not yet.

Ryan Williams’ header, six minutes into stoppage time, salvaged a point against Newcastle Jets on Saturday that extended Glory’s ongoing scrap to finish the season in the top six. This came a week after a stoppage time goal earned Glory victory against Western Sydney Wanderers.

The WA side has been up against it almost since the first ball was kicked, and the 2-2 draw with the Jets may only have extended their pain.

Glory are tenth, three points adrift of Sydney FC, and are surrounded by competitors singing from a similar hymn sheet. Last-placed Melbourne Victory are three points behind Glory (on 24 points) and Brisbane Roar are only a point adrift of the WA side.

Above Glory are Macarthur, Western United and the Jets, all on 25 points.

But with three of their final five games of the season to be played at home, Ruben Zadkovich’s side could yet spring a finals surprise.

United closing on City

Adelaide United closed the gap on A-League leaders Melbourne City by extending to 10 games their unbeaten streak.

While City were forced to come from behind to draw 1-1 with Macarthur, Adelaide scored another bagful of goals in a 5-1 demolition of Wellington Phoenix.

City have a four-point lead at the top of the table and have a game in hand. But the Reds are a team in form having scored 13 goals in their last three games.

Melbourne City have drawn one, lost one and won one of their last three matches.

Kessie settles El Clasico

Franck Kessie’s first La Liga goal for Barcelona settled the latest El Clasico and put his side on track to reclaim the Spanish league title.

Barcelona did it tough at Camp Nou, falling behind through a Ronald Araujo own goal but drawing level thanks to Sergi Roberto.

And the title race looked to have been blown open again when Marco Asensio scored for Real, only to see the goal ruled out for offside.

It was left to Kessie to score in stoppage time and extend Barcelona’s lead over second-placed Real to 12 points.

Who else but Zlatan?

It took two attempts to get it right, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic created Serie A history on Saturday.

The former Sweden international had a penalty saved but was allowed to retake it after the referee spotted Udinese players encroaching into the box.

Ibrahimovic made no mistake with his second attempt, firing home to become the oldest goal scorer in the history of Italy’s top competition. He was 41 years and 166 days old.

Udinese weren’t happy with the awarding of the penalty for handball but it didn’t matter in the end. Goals from Roberto Pereyra, Beto and Kingsley Ehizbue secured a 3-1 win for Udinese.




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